1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ophthalmic treatment apparatus capable of protecting cells constituting a retina.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, there have been known ophthalmic diseases such as glaucoma, ischemic retinal degeneration, and optic nerve injury. In these diseases, a retinal ganglion cell which is one of cells of the kind constituting a retina (hereinafter, retinal constitutive cells) degenerates and comes to death, which causes gradual loss of patient's good eyesight. This may lead to blindness when the diseases continue to progress. As yet, there are no effective treatments for such diseases. A vitamin preparation and a blood-flow improving medication are usually used as therapeutic agents (medicines) for the diseases; however, reliable therapeutic effect could not be produced actually. In basic experiments using animals, on the other hand, there has been known that the use of a neurotrophic factor such as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) as a therapeutic agent could delay the death of the retinal constitutive cells or improve the function of these cells.
However, it is desirable to keep administration of the above mentioned therapeutic agents to the human body to a minimum for preventing side effects. To allow the therapeutic agents such as BDNF and others to efficiently reach the retinal constitutive cells, the therapeutic agents need to be administered by injection to vitreous body. This administration by the injection to vitreous body allows the therapeutic agents to efficiently reach the retinal constitutive cells, such as retinal ganglion cells; nevertheless, the injection to eyeball would give very uncomfortable feeling to the patient.